Paint shield



Dec. 28, 1954 E. A. BULLOCK PAINT SHIELD Filed March 26, 1952 INVENTOR 7 Ernea Zifiu 2200/1;

United States Patent PAINT SHIELD Ernest A. Bullock, Milwaukee, Wis. Application March 26, 1952, Serial No. 278,586 3 Claims. 01. 118-504) This invention relates to a novel shield of extremely simple construction for use in painting interior wall surfaces to protect baseboards from being spotted by paint being applied to wall surfaces disposed thereabove.

The extensive use of paint rollers for painting interior wall surfaces makes the use of the paint shield extremely desirable since such rollers release a fine mist of paint which otherwise collects on the baseboard and is difficult to remove.

With the present invention, the baseboard and other molding adjacent the floor may be effectively protected while an entire wall surface is being painted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shield which may be readily adjusted for baseboards of different heights and quickly and easily moved from one position to another.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shield which may be readily adjusted for mounting against inclined baseboards of stairways and the like.

A further and particularly important object of the invention is to provide a shield which may be mounted over the upper edge of a baseboard or molding located near a floor without being secured to the baseboard or molding, thus eliminating scarring the baseboard or molding and enabling the shield to be quickly moved from one baseboard portion to another.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing a portion of an interior wall surface with three of the paint shields applied to portions of the baseboard and to the molding of a heat register;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the blank from which the shield is formed;

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 44 of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in section, similar to Figure 1 but showing a portion of a single shield mounted on a stairway baseboard.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the paint shield in its entirety is designated generally 6 and includes an elongated strip of substantially rigid sheet material, designated generally 7 including a relatively wide portion 8 which extends from end-to-end thereof, forming the shield, and a narrower depending flange 9. The flange 9 extends downwardly from one longitudinal edge of the shield portion 8 and is preferably disposed at an angle slightly less than 90 to said shield portion. The ends 10 of the flange 9 which merge with the ends of the shield portion 8 are bevelled or cut off at an angle of approximately 45 or at a greater or less angle, if desired, for a purpose which will hereinafter become apparent. The flange 9, intermediate of its ends, is provided with an opening 11 and with three openings 12, 13 and 14 which are vertically spaced relatively to one another. The openings 12, 13 and 14 form an arc and are equally spaced from the opening 11.

The paint shield 6 also includes an elongated rigid supporting leg or post 15 which is detachablyand adjustably connected to the flange 9 by a hook shaped bolt 16, the longer leg 17 of which is threaded. The bolt 16 is substantially U-shaped and the threaded leg 17 is preferwith the fingers.

2,698,003 Patented Dec. '28-, 1954 ably longer than the other, unthreaded leg 18. The threaded leg or shank 17 extends inwardly through the opening 11 and is threadedly engaged by a nut 19, preferably in the form of a wing nut which can be turned A washer 20 is preferably mounted on the shank 17 between the nut 19 and the inner side of the flange 9. The other end 18 of the bolt 16 extends through the intermediate opening 13, if the shield member 7 is to be mounted in a horizontal plane and the post 15 extends vertically through the bolt 16, between its bight portion and the outer side of the flange 9. The post 15 is adjusted upwardly or downwardly until the free edge 21 of the shield portion 8, which is located remotev to the flange 9, is at a proper level to rest on the upper edge of a baseboard 22 and against a portion of a wall.

surface 23 which rises therefrom. When the shield portion 21 is thus disposed and the post 15 is in an upright position, the nut 19 is tightened to clamp the post 15 in its adjusted position to the flange 9. The post 15 will 1 then cooperate with the baseboard 22 to support the shield member 7, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and as the flange 9 is disposed at an angle of less than to the shield portion 8, said portion 8 will be inclined downwardly slightly from the post 15 toward the baseboard 22 to enable the unit 6 to more readily maintain its position of Figures 1 and 2, since the weight of the shield member 7 will more readily tend to cause the post 15 to rock toward the wall 23 and thus hold the shield portion 21 in engagement against said wall and on the upper edge of the baseboard 22. If the shield member 7 extends to one end of the wall 23, an end of the shield portion 8 may abut against a wall surface 24 disposed at a right angle to the wall 23 and the adjacent bevelled end 10 of the flange 9 will be accommodated over the bevelled upper end of a baseboard 25, located at the bottom of the wall 24. Any number of the paint shields 6 may be utilized to completely cover the first baseboard 22 from end-to-end of the wall 23 and said shields may be made in various lengths for this purpose and may include relatively short shield units 6a which may be additionally employed by engagement with an upper edge of a molding 26 of a heat register or duct outlet 27 for protecting the molding 26 and outlet 27 while the wall 23 is being painted. For this purpose a longer post 15a may be utilized. Posts 15a of various lengths may be provided and the shield member 7 may be made in various lengths, preferably no longer than four feet since most walls 23 are not exactly straight and shield members 7 of lengths greater than four feet will not ordinarily abut against a wall from end-to-end of the shield portion 21. It will be readily apparent that any paint droppings occurring while the wall 23 is being painted will fall upon the shield members 8 which will thus protect the baseboard 22 and the floor 28 located adjacent the baseboard and beneath the shield members 8. The shield portions 8 will also catch the fine mists of paint from a paint roller which would otherwise coat the baseboard 22 and floor 28.

For best results, the wall portion 23 directly above the baseboard 22 and molding 26 is first painted with a brush or roller after which the shields 6 are applied and the remainder of the wall may then be painted.

Figure 5 illustrates one of the shields 6 used for protecting a baseboard 29 of a stairway 30, the upper edge of which is disposed at an incline. To accomplish adjustment of the shield 6 for this use, it is only necessary to loosen the nut 19 so that the bolt end 18 can be inserted through the upper opening 12 to position the shield strip 7 at an incline relatively to the axis of the post 15, after which the post is clamped to the flange 9, as previously described, with the shield strip 7 at a proper elevation. The lower end of the post 15 is then positioned to rest on one of the steps 31 and the shield portion 21, not shown, in Figure 5, is disposed against the wall 32, above the baseboard 29, and against the upper edge of the base board 29. As in Figure l, a number of shields 6 maybe employed in end-to-end relationship for protecting the stairway baseboard from end-to-end thereof. For protecting the baseboard, not shown, at the opposite side of the stairway 30, the bolt 16 is adjusted so that its end 18 engages angl may obviously be resorted to, without departing from, the spirit or scope of the 'irryention as hereinafter. defined by'the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

jl. A paint shield for baseboards or moldings of walls comprising an elongated substantially rigid shield strip having a relatively widefshieldjportion extending from erid-to-endv thereof and a depending flange extending downwardly from one side edge of the shield portion, said flange having longitudinally spaced openings, a bolt havingisubstantially parallel ends and anintermediate bight portion, said bolt ends extending inwardly through the flange openings, at least one of said ends being threaded, a nut engaging thethreaded bolt end and disposed on the inner side of said flange and beneath the shield portion, ariupright post extending through the bolt between said ends and between the flange and the intermediate bight portion, said nut being tightened to clamp the flange to the.post for supporting the shield strip thereon at a desired elevation, said post being adapted to be disposed in an upright position with its lower end resting on a floor surface, said shield strip being disposed between the post and a wall tof'be painted, the other longitudinal edge of the shield portion being adapted to rest directly on the upper edge of a. baseboard of the wall and against a portion of the Wall for protecting and shielding the baseboard and floor portion disposed beneath the shield strip.

2. A paint shield as in claim 1, said flange being disposed at an angle less than to said shield portion whereby the shield portion is inclined transversely downward from the flange toward its last mentioned longitudinal edge.

3. A paint shield as in claim 1, said other bolt end being unthreaded and shorter than the threaded bolt end, said flange having a plurality of spaced openings selectively receiving said unthreaded bolt end for angularly adjusting the post relatively to the longitudinal axis of the shield strip for mounting the shield portion in either a horizontal position or in an inclined position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Goda June 20, 1950 

